Benny Glaser on This Year’s World Series of Poker Player of the Year Race

Images courtesy of PokerStars

The race to become the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Player of the Year has officially begun earlier this year.

While last year’s sprint to win the honor of a flag on the walls of the Horseshoe Las Vegas or Paris Casino began in Sin City itself, the 2026 POY race begins in Prague. The WSOP Europe festival has moved locations from Rozvadov to the Czech Republic capital, also bouncing forward in the schedule to before the Las Vegas leg of the action instead of after it.

To find out how best to prepare for the WSOP Player of the Year race, we spoke to the man who won more bracelets than anyone else in Las Vegas last year.

British poker legend Benny Glaser has eight WSOP bracelets and isn’t even eligible for Poker Hall of Fame induction yet. With Prague now firmly in the British player’s sights, we sought out his strategy in trying to turn last year’s runner-up result in the POY race into an outright win.

How Important Is Prague to the Race?

Last year’s race went down to the wire, with Benny unable to get over the line as Shaun Deeb edged him out by a matter of a few points.

In 2026, the race to become WSOP Player of the Year starts in the Czech capital of Prague, where 15 WSOP bracelets will be up for grabs in the WSOP Europe festival. So, how important will these opening bracelet events of the year be?

I think Prague will be important, but in the grand scheme of the year, not that important, says Benny. There aren’t many events that have small fields; there’s one €20,000 High Roller.

Aside from that, I don’t think it will be likely that many players that might be in the running for Player of the Year throughout 2026 will win an event or have a top-three finish given the way the Prague schedule looks.

When summarizing his thoughts on the Player of the Year (POY) race overall, Benny actually believes the ‘back nine’ of the series will be more vital.

The Bahamas [WSOP Paradise] will be more of a deciding series when there are a lot of high buy-ins and more going on. It’s more likely someone will finish in the final table [places].

Similarly with the summer World Series of Poker schedule, the fact that there are many more events and multiple events every day, including those with relatively small fields, makes it more likely that people will do well in more of them. Those are more important, and it might well be the case that someone who bricks Prague or doesn’t even play will end up winning POY or coming in the top three.

Preparing for Battle

Benny’s own preparations for WSOP Europe in Prague have been affected by a heavy SCOOP schedule. We wanted to know how he’s managed to prepare for Prague while adding to his number of SCOOP titles, making it a round dozen to add to his 16 WCOOP titles.

SCOOP is a great chance to practice battling some of the best in the world, Benny says. The fields these days are very tough and given they’re smaller, you have more practice at the important ICM scenarios such as final tables. Also, it gives me a chance to study the hands that I play throughout the series in preparation for Prague and future series.

While Benny admits that he “took SCOOP easier” in 2026, partly because he’s well aware of the WSOP Europe festival and others coming along soon after it, his focus won’t be on mixed game events in the Czech capital, with the schedule painfully light on them.

There aren’t any mixed events happening in Prague, but there is the Mixed Omaha. I will definitely prioritize the events that I think I have a higher edge in, which I think will be smaller fields. There’s really only one [bracelet event] a day and no crossover, so it won’t be too difficult to choose. I’ll prioritize some of the smaller fields that could be nice for POY.

Going for Gold in Las Vegas

However things go in Prague, Benny knows that it is a very quick turnaround of a few weeks before the 2026 Las Vegas WSOP and 100 more bracelet events. He is keen to make sure that he is well rested before heading to Sin City in search of gold.

Between Prague and the World Series, I’ll have some time off, and I’ll be going to the Aussie Millions, which I’m excited for. I’ll have some time off after that, hopefully, have some fun travelling and be ready to dive back into the World Series.

Winning three bracelets in one summer is extremely rare, and expecting the same in 2026 would be a fool’s errand… and Benny is no fool. He’ll mostly be laser-focused on how he plays, keenly aware that letting results take care of themselves is the optimal way to be.

I prefer to think of how I’m handling things. Generally, for a summer, I’d have a goal of winning one bracelet given the likelihood, but it could be nice to improve on my record at some point. I’ll see how my summer starts to see how hard I’ll go for the rest of it and how I feel.

Benny’s Pick for a Future Poker Hall of Famer

The number of players now in the bracket to enter the Poker Hall of Fame is incredible. As someone who’ll need to wait just a few more years to turn 40, Benny thinks that when he is eligible for a place in the hallowed hall, he’s unlikely to get voted in if there is only one inductee that year.

In the next three or four years, one frontrunner for me would be Stephen Chidwick, who, unfortunately, I believe is in the same year as me, Benny says with a rueful grin. He’s obviously an incredible poker player and has been for many years.

When it comes to Benny’s reasoning for his fellow British player to beat him into the Poker Hall of Fame, the eight-time WSOP bracelet winner can’t talk highly of his compatriot.

He has been able to stay at the top; I respect him a lot, and his work ethic is incredible. The way he handles himself at the table is always very admirable. He’s all-around a great poker player, so he would be one of my first picks in the upcoming years.

Maintaining His Edge

Cashing multiple times in a WSOP series, as Benny did in 2025, is great and builds POY momentum, but can be very draining. Mid-series, Benny has plans for how he can stay at the top of his game when he’s at the felt.  

In maintaining my mental edge mid-series, honestly, it’s not very easy, Benny admits. There are a bunch of things I try to do, like listen to my body and potentially rest and not just burn myself out.

I’ll try to have some fun downtime to take my mind outside of poker, whether that’s going out with friends or enjoying some nature, or some other ways to decompress, like going to a spa.

While he always pushes himself in dozens of events every summer, keeping a balance is how Benny manages to maintain that all-important A-Game.

I try not to be afraid to skip an event or two if I don’t feel like I’m going to play well in those events, or I’ll late register if I feel like I want to take the afternoon off to relax and focus on my abilities for emotional regulation, including when I’m at the tables.

That’s something I’m trying to focus on and being proud if I’m able to handle that well. These days, that’s another goal of mine – to do that well for my wellbeing rather than only strategically playing as well as I can.

With 15 events in the WSOP Europe festival, another 100 in Las Vegas, and 15 more in The Bahamas to contribute to the POY leaderboard in 2026, Benny Glaser is determined to get the most out of 130 bracelet events this year.

Just as in 2025, if anyone is able to finish above Benny Glaser, they’re likely to end up the winner.

That is a very big ‘if.’